A Jagged Gorgeous Forest
by Duskstripe
Summary: BrackenClan has just completed their exodus from their old territory. However, the new forest they've settled in holds a myriad of secrets. Can Duskpaw unravel them before his Clan has to abandon their new territory as well?
1. A Jagged Gorgeous Winter

**BrackenClan**

Leader:

Brightstar, an aging tom with a yellow pelt.

Deputy:

Riverdapple: A queen with a blue-gray coats flecked with light brown, now nursing her two kits, Applekit and Brushkit. Rainwhisker is deputy in her absence.

Rainwhisker: A senior warrior with a dark gray pelt and a personality like a raincloud. Deputy while Riverdapple is nursing.

Medicine Cats

Larkheart: A gray-brown tom with a white chest.

Foxpaw: A russet colored young tom with black paws. He is the medicine cat apprentice and has a penchant for getting into mischief.

Warriors:

Lightfoot: A tom with a light brown coat and white paws.

_Apprentice, Duskpaw_

Needlefur: A she-cat with unruly light gray fur that is always sticking out in spikes and points.

Lynxspring: A tom with a yellow pelt and blue eyes.

_Apprentice, Rosepaw_

Tasslepelt: A she cat with long, brown and black fur and dark eyes.

Yellowstripe: A young tom with a yellow and orange striped pelt.

_Apprentice, Granitepaw_

Railweed: A young tom with a brown striped pelt and blue eyes. [a rail is a type of ground-loving bird, fyi]

Wreneye: A senior tom with a light brown pelt and golden eyes.

Goldentail: A she-cat with soft golden fur and green eyes.

_Apprentice, Lilypaw_

Silverstripe: A she cat with a light gray coat with silvery eyes and stripes down her sides.

Queens:

Honeytail: A nursing she-cat with an amber-colored coat, mother to Applekit and Brushkit.

Ravencloud: A she cat with a black coat, mother to Dovekit.

Riverdapple: A queen with gray-blue fur and brown specks on her coat, mother to Dewkit and Bluekit.

Elders:

Shrewscruff: The oldest cat in the Clan, a tom with a brown coat and yellow eyes.

Ragtail: An old, long-furred gray tom.

**Prologue**

Brightstar gratefully set his weary rump down on firm, promising ground. As the leader of BrackenClan, it was the first time he had allowed himself true rest in over a moon. His Clan had completed the arduous trek to a new, prey-rich territory, leaving behind their old, abused forest and its melange of threats.

Brightstar's heart still throbbed as he remembered the lifestyle he and his Clan had been forced to leave behind. Thankfully, this new forest seemed to hold ample prey to support a clan several times larger than his, and appeared completely devoid of hidden dangers. However, from past experiences in roughing it with his dutiful Clan, Brightstar knew that this forest must hold its share of yet-to-be-discovered secrets. On top of that, leaf-bare was fast approaching.

_Well_, Brightstar thought, _I'll worry about leaf-bare when leaf-bare comes_. Stretching his jaws and forelimbs out in front of him in a colossal yawn, Brightstar settled down, surveying his new territory; a new, pristine world.

***

**Chapter 1: **A Jagged Gorgeous Winter

_ Brr_, Duskpaw thought, as he and his mentor, Lightfoot, stalked through the snow-covered forest, _it never was this cold in our old territory_. Of course, he only remembered leaf-bare as a thin chill, insulated as he was in the nursery that he had left behind. Suddenly, Duskpaw bumped into his mentor, startling him out of him reverie.

Lightfoot twisted around and gave Duskpaw the scathing look that only he could. _Lightfoot probably practices that in front of the brook_, Duskpaw inwardly smirked. He knew that it was all an act, though. After two moons of getting used to life as an apprentice, Duskpaw knew his mentor better than he knew any other cat in the Clan, except for his friend Granitepaw.

Scenting the barren forest, Duskpaw picked up the enticing, earthy scent of vole. Lightfoot nodded to him, giving him the go-ahead. Eagerly, Duskpaw scented again and stalked up to the base of a nearby dead beech tree surrounded with the scent of vole. A V-shaped hole broke the bottom of the trunk, big enough for a large vole, but certainly not for a BrackenClan apprentice. He looked back at Lightfoot, asking for a hint as how to flush out his quarry. Lightfoot, rather expectedly, simply fixed him up with an exasperated stare. _If I didn't have such an apathetic mentor_, Duskpaw thought, _maybe my Clan wouldn't be starving right now!_

Swishing his tail vindictively, Duskpaw suddenly had an idea. Sneaking around to the back of the dead tree, and with a wink at Lightfoot, Duskpaw began pounding the base of the tree with flailing paws. Dead wood flew in splinters around him, dotting the snow.

Within seconds, three voles shot out of the tiny opening at the other side of the trunk, scared out by Duskpaw's battering. Racing around to pounce on his prey, Duskpaw saw Lightfoot snatch one, while at the same time chasing the other two towards him. Ambushing the two voles, Duskpaw managed to trap both beneath his paws. He quickly dispatched them, giving thanks to StarClan for his kills, especially in a leaf-bare as cold as this was.

"Nice catch, Duskpaw," purred Lightfoot. Duskpaw felt a flash of gratitude towards his mentor. Compliments never came easy from Lightfoot, and when they did they were as precious as prey in leaf-bare.

"Lets try over by the brook, next," meowed Lightfoot. Duskpaw's gratitude vanished instantly. "What? We've been out hunting for the whole morning! My pelt is so frozen I look like Needlefur!" Duskpaw complained. Lightfoot's whiskers twitched, but he trod on, forging a cat-sized path through the snow.

After an unsuccessful hunting expedition that whiled away what remained of the morning, Duskpaw and Lightfoot began to trek back to the dead beech where the three voles were hidden underneath the snow. Duskpaw thought he had never disliked a cat so much as he did Lightfoot right now, especially since he, as a smaller cat, had a tougher time pushing through rapidly-icing snow than Lightfoot did.

As they reached the tree, Duskpaw spotted a thrush, pecking away at several grubs that he had upturned earlier that morning while bashing away at the rotten trunk. Without pausing for Lightfoot to say anything, Duskpaw streaked straight for the thrush, snow flying wildly beneath his paws. Catching the thrush with a massive leap, Duskpaw killed it as quickly as he had the voles.

Lightfoot had already begun unearthing the voles. He gave two to Duskpaw, picked up one himself, and turned towards the camp. Duskpaw sighed and awkwardly picked up his two voles by the tail and the thrush by a wing, dragging it across the snow. _Just how long do I have to wait before I become a warrior, again?_

_**Well****, **_**that's the prologue and chapter one of the first fan fic I've ever written, and I'm insanely proud of it...But criticism is totally welcome!! Please review!!!**


	2. Fight Like a Brave

**Chapter 2: **Fight Like A Brave

Rainwhisker, leading the hunting patrol Duskpaw was on, stopped at the edge of a meadow, whose far end marked the end of BrackenClan territory. At any other time, the meadow would have made for great hunting, but now, in leaf-bare, only the tops of the tall grasses poked through an oppressive sea of snow, burying any field mice that might be hidden there.

Suddenly, a patch of stone-colored gray flashed past Duskpaw, churning up snow as it went. The patch materialized as Granitepaw, Duskpaw's best friend, as Duskpaw blinked the snow out of his eyes. Agile as a squirrel, Granitepaw made a pinpoint turn back around for Duskpaw and threw his paws down right in front of him, spraying Duskpaw with snow.

Sputtering, Duskpaw shook his pelt and started towards Granitepaw, but Railweed reached him first. Shoving his flank against Granitepaw's, Railweed sent him tumbling into a snowdrift. "Thanks, Railweed," meowed Duskpaw, trying to keep the amusement from his voice. Emerging from the drift, Granitepaw looked like the flesh-and-hide embodiment of cold and wet, down to every last snow-covered whisker.

"Quit fooling around back there!" drifted Rainwhisker's irritated voice from the head of the hunting patrol. "You two will scare off any prey that hasn't frozen yet, and we're almost to the Twolegs nest. For StarClan's sake, _be quiet!"_

On the other side of the meadow stood an old abandoned Twoleg nest. The hunting patrol was headed there now, since the nest was one of the few places prey still ran during leaf-bare. Rainwhisker, who led the patrol, brought them over to a small hole in the side of the nest, and the patrol squeezed through one by one.

Inside, Duskpaw breathed in heavily. The warm scent of prey washed over him, making his paws tingle with excitement. Rainwhisker signaled with his tail to begin hunting, and the small patrol split up, as cats searched all over the nest for the origin of the soft pitter-patter of scattering prey.

Spying a patch of straw that was quivering slightly, Duskpaw stalked up to it and brushed the top of the pile of straw away with a deft movement, revealing a plump mouse. As he prepared to leap, though, an all-too-familiar flash of gray descended on the bolting prey and snatched it, almost colliding with Duskpaw as he aborted his well-planned leap.

"Hey, Duskpaw," meowed Granitepaw, with a glimmer of humor in his eyes, "I'll give you the mouse back, if you go jump in a snowdrift yourself!" Duskpaw was about to leap for Granitepaw, and was seriously thinking of unsheathing his claws, when an anguished yowl froze both apprentices in their tracks.

Dashing over to the far corner of the musty nest where a brown-striped cat was thrashing around on the dirt, Duskpaw, with Granitepaw on his heels, skidded to a halt in front of a flailing Railweed as the other cats came streaking along.

Railweed stopped thrashing around, and Duskpaw noticed two very large, very dead rats, covered in oozing gashes, lying at his paws. Railweed himself didn't look much better, though. He lay gasping, his pelt covered in nicks from rat claws and several large wounds that were freely flowing. "I'm dying, I'm dying!" wailed Railweed pathetically, as tiny bits of blood foamed out of his mouth and over his usually immaculate pelt. Dust and blood mixed on the floor of the nest.

_Well,_ though Duskpaw,_ Railweed sure fought like a brave._

Rainwhisker, his lips taut, snapped the patrol out of their shock. "Duskpaw, Granitepaw, you two get him back to Larkheart as quickly as you can. We'll continue the hunt," he added, as if it were obvious that a small thing like a warrior bleeding out his lifeblood would never stop a hunting patrol led by Rainwhisker. "And no fooling around this time, Granitepaw!" Rainwhisker hissed as Granitepaw and Duskpaw crouched down to help up the still-wailing Railweed. _It's easy to tell that Railweed hasn't been a warrior for long_, thought Duskpaw with a touch of irony in his thoughts, as two apprentices half-carried, half dragged a once proud, now limp warrior over the long stretch back to the shelter of the BrackenClan camp.

A trail of crimson blotches followed the three cats as they went.

Arriving at the camp, Duskpaw pushed through the icy brambles that encircled it, revealing a deep, sandy hollow that had been the new clan camp for the past three moons, now covered in trampled snow. Granitepaw excitedly dropped Railweed's paw, which he had been dragging once the warrior had truly passed out, and bounded across the hollow, almost bowling over Applekit and Brushkit, Riverdapple's kits, who were playing in the snow. Granitepaw ran straight up the steep incline to where the medicine cat den was set, deep in the hill. Duskpaw took the time to look over Railweed while Granitepaw fetched Larkheart, the medicine cat, and Foxpax, his apprentice.

Railweed's wounds now gently wept, instead of the with the passion with which his blood had abandoned him earlier. _Still,_ thought Duskpaw, _any cat who can't stand on his paws from lack of blood probably isn't too well off in any situation._

Duskpaw heard a screech come from the medicine cats den. He sighed. Granitepaw had probably just delivered his bombshell, likely with more gusto than was absolutely necessary. Sure enough, within seconds a brown and gray spotted cat, Larkheart, hared over to where Duskpaw was standing, looking down at Railweed's still form.

Duskpaw could see the look of glee on Granitepaw's face, still in the medicine cat's den, all the way from the other side of the hollow.

Skidding to a halt right in front of the prone Railweed's nose, Larkheart looked anxiously lay down next him, completely ignoring Duskpaw. Larkheart's anxious look was slowly replaced by one of calm as he inspected Railweed. Obviously, Granitepaw had fed him a story in which Railweed had practically already left for StarClan. Noticing Duskpaw for the first time, Larkheart looked up. "Duskpaw, move him into my den," he meowed, "I've got to collect some herbs, and then I'll be right there."

Getting Railweed up the slope to the nest wasn't as easy as it seemed, however. Duskpaw had begun to question the wisdom of having a medicine cats den that was practically impossible to get to when carrying sick cats, as Railweed slid down the snowy slope yet again. Giving a mighty heave against an unconscious Railweed, Duskpaw inched his way up the slope. Halfway up, he gave a well-deserved groan, and right after heard a quickly-stifled bout of laughter. Glancing around Railweed, Duskpaw saw Granitepaw and Foxpaw, leaning against Railweed and nonchalantly pushing him back down with their paws.

This time Duskpaw did unsheathe his claws. As he launched himself over Railweed, straight for Granitepaw, Foxpaw let out a bark of laughter. "Careful you don't do too much damage, Duskpaw. You'll have to push him up the hill, too!"

Duskpaw had timed his jump perfectly, and landed directly on Granitepaw, who promptly rolled over, knocking him off. As Duskpaw jumped to his paws, he swiped out at Granitepaw, and caught a clawful of fur from his flank. Granitepaw yowled, attracting the attention of the other cats in the clan.

Duskpaw had just pinned a maniacally giggling Granitepaw to the ground when Wreneye, a senior warrior of the clan, barked across the clearing, "Duskpaw! What in StarClan's name are you doing?" Abashed, Duskpaw let Granitepaw up, who was still finding difficulty in controlling his laughter.

"You two were fighting while Railweed was lying right next to you, bleeding on the ground?" Wreneye queried, a hard edge to his voice. Granitepaw met his gaze. "Well, he would have been bleeding no matter where he was, anyways," he blurted out, before Duskpaw could stop him.

Wreneye looked outraged.

"Good job, mouse-brain," whispered Duskpaw to Granitepaw, "We'll be lucky if we look like Railweed once Wreneye's though with us." Granitepaw snorted. "No cat appreciates logic anymore," he whispered back.

Wreneye glared at the two apprentices, his golden eyes piercing them. "Once you two get Railweed into the medicine cats den, you're coming with me to see Brightstar." Foxpaw let out a bark of mirth at their misfortune, and Wreneye rounded on him. "And you! Standing by and letting them fight! You're coming with me, as well."

Dejectedly, the three apprentices pushed Railweed up the slope unceremoniously, leaving lines of red streaking the snow, and then turned to Wreneye and followed him towards Brightstar's den, at the bottom of the hollow.

**Review, please! Next chapter will be up mid-next week...In which the three apprentices get into some deep mischief ; ] **


	3. Joy Ride

Chapter 3: Joy Ride

Duskpaw could have sworn that there was not a scrap of fur on him not soaked in mouse bile or foul smelling mud. He and Granitepaw had been searching the elders, Shrewscruff and Ragtail, for ticks earlier that day. Even Rosepaw, BrackenClan's empty-headed apprentice, could have seen the inevitable problem of being in the same den as Granitepaw when his paws were full of putrid bile-soaked moss.

The elders had spotted the problem, too, and had booted both Duskpaw and Granitepaw out of their den, before they had to abandon it in favor of one that actually smelled better than the clan dirtplace.

Duskpaw now crouched side by side with Foxpaw and Granitepaw, all of them scooping pawfuls of mud out of narrow tunnels that laced the bottom of the clay-filled hollow, as punishment for their mischief two days earlier.

The hollow that housed the Clan camp was lined with clay, which trapped any rainwater that fell into the hollow. Trapped rainwater was the only source of water in the whole forest for the Clan cats, since the nearest river ran through the far side of BrackenClan territory It was the sole duty of the apprentices to dig tunnels that rainwater could flow into, lest the Clan wake up one day to find their camp underwater.

That didn't make digging drainage tunnels any fun, though, as Duskpaw could attest to. Soaked in filthy water that had been left stagnant for StarClan knew how long, Duskpaw couldn't help feeling angry at Granitepaw for getting him into such deep trouble. At this rate, Duskpaw thought glumly, Brightstar will never make me a warrior thanks to Granitepaw and his wonderful ideas.

Looking up, Duskpaw saw Lightfoot heading towards the three apprentices crouched over the tunnels. Lightfoot had been in a bad mood ever since he had learned his apprentice had found himself on the wrong side of Brightstar yet again, and Duskpaw noticed a touch of remaining distemper in his voice as he meowed, "That's enough for today. You three had better get something to eat from the fresh-kill pile, before it all turns to crow-food."

Duskpaw glanced up hopefully at his mentor. "Lightfoot? Can I go out hunting tomorrow?" He was eager to prove his worth to the Clan, and he might even be able to make up for fooling around with Granitepaw so much.

"No!" Lightfoot snapped, as Duskpaw's spirits sank. "You three are being punished, and all of you have to remain in the camp until Brightstar clears you."

"Well, it was worth a try," Granitepaw whispered to Duskpaw as Lightfoot stalked away. "We wouldn't have to try if you hadn't gotten us all into this mess!", Duskpaw retorted.

Foxpaw stretched up, his fur matted down with mud. "Well, if you two are done quarreling like two old hedgehogs, let's go grab a mouse or two. I'm starved!" he meowed.

As the sun began to set, they padded towards the large fresh-kill pile, well stocked as it had been ever since the Clan had arrived at their new territory. Duskpaw chose an enormous blackbird and tucked in, spitting out feathers as they tickled his mouth.

Foxpaw looked up from his thrush and swiveled his head around until he spotted Rosepaw, who was eating a mouse and meticulously avoiding getting any blood on her muzzle. "Excellent," Foxpaw muttered to Granitepaw and Duskpaw, "I need an outlet for this frustration I've been building up all day."

Duskpaw groaned, even thought he felt the same way. Someone was going to pay for his filthy pelt, and right now he didn't care who.

"You two watch how the master of mischief operates," said Foxpaw, a grin creeping up his face as he turned, abandoning his dinner, and headed for the medicine den.

"Well," meowed Granitepaw, "Whatever Foxpaw'll do to Rosepaw will probably make up for the whole rotten day."

"Are you mousebrained?!" Duskpaw hissed into Granitepaw's ear, "We'll all just get into more trouble!"

But Foxpaw was already bounding down from the medicine den, his jaws clamped around several light green leaves. "Wood sorrel," he announced as he set them down and began rolling the leaves into tiny balls, "Helps cats who are having a little trouble around the dirtplace."

"Oh, no," meowed Granitepaw, but his sides were already heaving from the effort of not laughing. "Poor little Rosepaw! She'll be up all night long!"

Foxpaw grinned. "That's the spirit. Now you two just sit back and enjoy your dinner and a show."

Duskpaw watched from across the hollow, his whiskers twitching in amusement, as Foxpaw trotted over to Rosepaw and her mouse. Rosepaw glanced up and gave him an unfriendly look as he broke into conversation with her. Although, Duskpaw thought dryly, it could hardly be called conversation when one party refuses to acknowledge the existence of the other.

Foxpaw suddenly stiffened and glanced over Rosepaw, his tail raised in alarm. Falling for the ploy, she abruptly turned around, and as she did, Foxpaw quickly stuffed the balled-up wood sorrel he had been hiding in his paws into her half-eaten mouse.

Rosepaw turned around and glared at Foxpaw, who merely shrugged and turned away, making for Granitepaw and Duskpaw.

"You know what, Foxpaw," said Duskpaw, with a glimmer of amusement in his eye, "I think that was just what I needed tonight."

***

Crouched in the twilight, Duskpaw could barely make out the squirrel he was stalking. The sky overhead had only early stars in it, and the moon had not yet risen high enough to provide light. Catching this squirrel would make for a real challenge; Duskpaw had only ever hunted in daylight before. The squirrel moved out into a stray beam of moonlight, and Duskpaw could see it for the first time. It looked skinny and sickly to him, but he had already pounced towards it. Somehow he trapped it on its back as he landed on it, so he slit its throat with a single sharp claw, cringing at the spray of blood that would come out. But it never came.

Instead, the neck of the squirrel was dry and pale, only containing sinews and flesh, bleached of any color that came from live-giving blood. Horrified, and yet still driven with curiosity, Duskpaw took a bite of of the squirrel's flank, to find it just as dry and tasteless as the squirrel looked.

"Hey!" a voice crashed abruptly into his dream. "Take a bite of your own tail, will you?"

Duskpaw blinked awake as Granitepaw looked down at him. Duskpaw realized he had the tip of Granitepaw's tail in his mouth. "Oh. Sorry, Granitepaw...I...It was just a dream..."

Granitepaw looked amused. "Well, anyways," he continued, "Rosepaw's not in the apprentices den. I guess Foxpaw really does know his herbs!"

Duskpaw let out a short bark of laughter. Inwardly, though, he felt shaky and relieved. His dream had been so real, but it had only been Granitepaw's tail that he had tasted. _It'll be a while before I eat another squirrel, though_, thought Duskpaw.

He and Granitepaw settled back down into their moss-lined nests, and Duskpaw carefully draped his own tail over his nose before closing his eyes. Right before he slipped into slumber, he thought he could hear a young she-cat's groans drifting over from the dirtplace on the far end of the camp. Duskpaw allowed himself a small grin before he finally did succumb to the warmths of his nest.

It seemed to Duskpaw that he had barely closed his eyes before he was wakened by a noise akin to the whole forest filled with fighting, spitting cats. Granitepaw and Lilypaw, the other two apprentices in the den, sat bolt upright, staring with eyes wide with fear up a a section of the woods that seemed lit up with some strange, harsh light. Duskpaw couldn't help but to snicker when he remember that Rosepaw must still be in the dirtplace.

"Come on out, you three," Lightfoot appeared in front of the apprentices' den and beckoned to them with his tail. Following him into the clearing at the center of the hollow, it seemed to Duskpaw that most of the Clan was gathered, fearfully gazing up towards the section of the woods ablaze with light.

The horrible noise seemed to be getting louder, and suddenly a small, open Twoleg monster roared past the top rim of the hollow, its eyes shining out beams of light and its paws churning up snow. Another monster roared by, and another, all of them trampling the undergrowth. Next to Duskpaw, Lightfoot hissed. "They'll be chasing away all the prey in the forest!" Duskpaw agreed, but he was more concerned with the monsters themselves. What if one of them decided to come into the hollow?

The monsters began to roar by again, and they sped by the rim of the hollow again, close enough to ruffle the fur on the watching Clan cats. One monster, however, broke away from the group and veered towards the hollow. The Clan cats scattered, yowling in fear. But just as the monster was about to breach into the hollow, it rammed into a large oak that sheltered the Clan, scattering snow over the watching cats from its overhanging branches as the impact vibrated up the trunk.

Duskpaw peered out of the apprentices' den and saw a Twoleg crawling out of the wreck of the monster, mewling to the other Twolegs, who had turned and came to help their fallen clanmate. The injured Twoleg crawled into another monster, and they roared off into the night again, at a much slower pace.

The roaring died away into the darkness of the night, and the Clan crept back out into the hollow, hesitantly heading towards the smoldering and mangled Twoleg monster.

"Dovekit! Come back!" commanded Ravencloud, his mother, and Duskpaw saw Dovekit bounce over towards the monster. Dovekit took no notice, but before he could reach it, Brightstar grabbed him deftly by the scruff with practiced ease and set him down by his mother's side.

"Brightstar, what should we do?" asked Rainwhisker, his eyes alight with worry. Brightstar himself looked rather ruffled, but Duskpaw reminded himself that there probably wasn't a cat in StarClan whose hackles weren't raised after seeing those monsters race by, so close to the camp. "Keep the kits and apprentices back," commanded Brightstar after a pause. Duskpaw felt anger flare up inside him. Like he wouldn't be careful around an unknown Twolegs thing! Remembering Granitepaw, though, Duskpaw cooled down as he saw the wisdom in Brightstar's words.

Brightstar continued, "No cat is to approach the monster unless I give my permission. For now, Yellowstripe, Wreneye, and myself will take a good look at it.

Wreneye padded over to Brightstar immediately, but Yellowstripe flashed a menacing glare at Granitepaw, his apprentice, and hissed, "If I catch you near that thing, I swear you won't become a warrior until I die!", before he went and joined Brightstar, leaving Granitepaw with a mutinous look in his eye.

Duskpaw could have bet a moon of dawn patrols that Granitepaw would be bouncing all over the carcass of the monster before sun-up.

**Can you say plot development? What does Duskpaw's dream mean? And what problems will the wreck bring? Here's a hint: a lot. Thanks for the reviews everyone, I LOVE getting feedback and more are welcome of course =) next chapter will be up next weekend. btw, readers, don't be suprised if an earlier chapter is changed whenever you look at it again: im constantly editing this whole story.**


	4. Come Together

**Chapter 4: **Come Together

Skirting pools of meltwater, Duskpaw couldn't help feeling that things were looking up, despite the corpse of the monster laying on the outskirts of the Clan camp.

Railweed would be able to hunt with his Clan again, soon, the monsters hadn't chased away as much prey as Lightfoot had feared, testified by the pile of fresh-kill (conspicuously devoid of squirrels) that Duskpaw had buried earlier that hunt, and the snow was finally beginning to melt, turning the forest floor muddy; a sure sign of approaching new-leaf.

Nearing the peeling birch tree, and one of the only dry spots of ground in the whole forest, under which his prey was buried, Duskpaw could scent the mouth-watering smell of fresh-kill.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

_I shouldn't be able to smell anything! _thought Duskpaw, _I didn't kill that prey anywhere near here!_

Duskpaw dropped into a crouch, his belly brushing the muddy leaf-litter, and silently stalked up to the top of a ridge, overlooking the birch and his buried prey.

Only, it wasn't buried anymore.

An unfamiliar small tom with matted-down, unkempt brown fur was hungrily tearing into Duskpaw's hard-earned catch, disregarding the mud covering the prey. Duskpaw let out a furious yowl, his heart pumping his veins full of rage, and flung himself down the slope towards the tom and the remains of his ill-begotten meal.

Clearly startled, the mangy tom whipped around and, taking one good look at eight pounds or so of claws and malice pounding towards him, gave his unfinished meal a last sad look and turned tail and sprinted away into the woods, Duskpaw close behind.

Enraged that this excuse for a cat could be such a coward as to steal prey and then not even face the cat who caught it, Duskpaw urged his paws to move faster, so that he could catch the small rogue and teach him never to steal prey from BrackenClan again.

Duskpaw didn't need that extra spurt of speed, though, because at that moment the fleeing tom attempted a sharp turn away from Duskpaw and slipped in the mud, falling into a sizable puddle, his limbs askew.

Yowling triumphantly, Duskpaw leapt onto the tom, slamming him down into the muck. The tom scrabbled in the mud for a pawhold, but was powerless under Duskpaw's weight. Groaning, the mud-covered cat plopped his head down into the mud, signifying defeat.

Stepping off of the motionless lump of fur and into the mud, Duskpaw unsheathed his claws and gripped the forepaws splayed in the mud, flipping the defeated tom over onto his belly.

Duskpaw looked at his adversary's face for the first time. He was shocked; the tom was young, younger than he, probably, and his eyes were filled with terror. Duskpaw could imagine the fear-scent that the young tom would be exuding if he wasn't covered in foul-smelling mud, and he couldn't help feeling a stab of pity for the unlucky tom. Duskpaw's rage evaporated.

Shaking his head to clear his doubts, Duskpaw turned back to the tom and glared.

"What are you doing in BrackenClan territory?" Duskpaw demanded.

The tom gulped. "BrackenClan? I-I didn't know this was your hunting grounds...", the tom trailed off, looking even more miserable than before. He continued under Duskpaw's questioning glare, "I was just passing through...really... I usually hunt around here...".

Duskpaw bristled. "Well, why were you stealing the prey I worked so hard to catch for my Clan? You ate food that would go to nursing queens and elders in a harsh leaf-bare!" _That wasn't entirely true_, thought Duskpaw, since the season was now more mild than harsh, and prey was beginning to run again, but the tom didn't know that.

"Who are you, anyways?", Duskpaw continued, snarling, his anger beginning to return that the tom wouldn't give a definitive answer. The tom, looking relieved at a question he could finally answer, replied, "I'm Thumper."

_That's a weirder name than Needlefur, _Duskpaw thought to himself.

Thumper continued. "What's your name, anyways?"

"Duskpaw."

"Huh," replied Thumper, "That's a weirder name than Gutter, my littermate." Duskpaw realized that this cat might not be so foreign, after all. "Well, if I had named you, Duskpaw, it would have been something with claws, rage, or malice in it, the way you charged at me earlier," joked Thumper.

Duskpaw suddenly felt a strong, warm affection towards Thumper, and he couldn't describe why.

"You'd better get up and come back to BrackenClan camp, Thumper, so we can decide what to do with you."

Thumper looked aghast.

"Just to introduce you," Duskpaw hastily amended, "And to see if we can't work out somewhere for you to hunt _far away_ from Clan territory."

Thumper still seemed hesitant, so Duskpaw finally let him up and went so far as to give him a friendly lick on the shoulder. "Get up," Duskpaw repeated, "Going to meet the Clan will help you! We can work out a place for you to hunt, and no Clan cat will ever disturb you again, wherever that place is."

Thumper finally rose to his paws. "Well, it looks like I've got little choice." He shook out his coat, sending mud flying into thick in the air. The move was so Granitepaw-esque that Duskpaw had to laugh, but he stopped abruptly when he realized that his own pelt was now covered in flecks of mud. The move had been more like one of Granitepaw's own than Duskpaw had thought.

***

When Duskpaw and Thumper reached the edge of the sandy hollow, Duskpaw realized how undefended his camp really was. A malignant cat, or even a fox, could enter the axis of BrackenClan life unmolested. Isn't Duskpaw made up of the right stuff for deputy?

Thumper gave a gasp as he saw the interior of the sandy, muddy dish. "That's way more cats than I've ever seen together!" he exclaimed. "How do you all get along?"

Half-walking, half-sliding down into the camp along the muddy slope, Duskpaw remembered the incident with Rosepaw and a pawful of sorrel just a few days ago. He smirked. "It's funny you should mention that, really..."

Leaving Thumper with a questioning light in his eyes, Duskpaw yowled to the clan, announcing the arrival of Thumper. Every cat turned, staring at Thumper with a mix of curiosity and, Duskpaw could tell, restless, clenching paws; his Clan hadn't met any other cats since their arrival in the new forest, and Duskpaw guessed that some of the older cats were itching for a good tussle, like they used to have back ? Were there other Clans with BrackenClan back 'home'?

Brightstar padded over, his bright eyes; his namesake, probing Thumper.

Duskpaw bristled that Brightstar had completely ignored him, and spoke rather louder than he needed to when he addressed Brightstar.

"This is Thumper, a rogue who hunted in BrackenClan territory before we arrived here. I caught him eating prey I had buried in our territory, and I brought him back here, so that you could work out an agreement, Brightstar."

Duskpaw tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice while he spoke. Brightstar seemed distant to his Clan, lately, Duskpaw mused, perhaps that was why he felt Brightstar was giving him the cold shoulder.

Brightstar simply continued to stare penetratingly at Thumper, who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. After several moments, Brightstar appeared to make up his mind. He opened his mouth to speak, and Duskpaw saw Thumper tense.

"BrackenClan," Brightstar began, "I will decide what to do with Thumper tomorrow." Thumper let out a deep breath. Brightstar continued, " For tonight, he will sleep in the apprentices' den, while I mull this over."

Brightstar turned and padded towards his den, and slowly, muttering to themselves, the Clan cats dispersed, shooting glances at Thumper, and Duskpaw realized, himself. Duskpaw glowed inside; he sure would have a story to tell the other apprentices tonight!

***

After retelling his story more times than he could count, Duskpaw led Thumper into the apprentices' den. Overhead, the moon shone brightly, casting harsh shadows over the camp. Night had fallen long ago, and Duskpaw was eager to curl up for a long slumber.

Duskpaw motioned Thumper into the apprentice's den. Thumper cautiously stepped inside. It was darker inside the den, and Duskpaw was already feeling drowsy as he stepped into the den. Thus, he had no warning when he quite suddenly collided with Thumper.

"Hey! Try not to pretend that you're a rock less often, okay, Thumper?", Duskpaw hissed to him.

Thumper took no notice. He was gazing unashamedly at a far corner of the den. "Who's that?", he whispered breathlessly to Duskpaw.

Duskpaw followed his gaze, and couldn't help letting out a snicker of laughter. "You mean Rosepaw?"

"She's _gorgeous_!", replied Thumper, his voice soppier than the forest outside. Duskpaw snorted. "Well, you should see her when he's awake," meowed Duskpaw, thinking of her pompous manner and meticulous eating habits.

"I can't wait!", whispered back Thumper.

Duskpaw thought that Thumper was going to be in for a surprise when he woke up the next morning.

Yawning, Duskpaw curled up in his nest, shifting his weight from side to side. There was something in his nest poking him. Duskpaw got up, and pulled a cold, shiny rock-looking thing from underneath the moss lining his nest.

He grinned sleepily to himself. Granitepaw had 'visited' the dead Twolegs monster, and he had taken something to remember it by, too.

***

Duskpaw really had slept well, and was woken only by sunlight lazily slanting onto him. Stretching out his forelimbs, Duskpaw looked around and saw the apprentices den empty.

_Mouse dung! _he thought, _I can't afford to sleep late!_ Granitepaw and Foxpaw him already gotten him into enough trouble as it was, and Duskpaw didn't want to give Brightstar yet another reason to delay his warrior ceremony for.

Padding out of the den and squinting against the bright light, Duskpaw blinked. He couldn't possibly be seeing what had thought the was seeing.

Thumper was lying down next to Rosepaw, sharing tongues with her.

As Duskpaw watched, Thumper murmured something into her ear, and she laughed enthusiastically.

Granitepaw walked up to Duskpaw and meowed, "Isn't it just repulsive? I thought he was a real cat, before _this._" Duskpaw could only nod his head in dumb astonishment.

"It makes Rosepaw seem almost...nah. Anyways, Brightstar will be calling a Clan meeting before too long. Let's grab something from the fresh-kill pile." Granitepaw padded away, and Duskpaw tore his gaze away from the two cats before following Granitepaw to the fresh-kill pile.

Before Duskpaw could take a bite of the plump mouse he had chosen, though, Goldentail, Granitepaw's mother, came angrily over to where Granitepaw was gorging himself an enormous squirrel.

Oblivious, Granitepaw continued ripping out the innards of his meal with gusto, until Goldentail dropped a shiny, heavy rock onto the squirrel. Granitepaw finally looked up, incensed, but his eyes widened with surprise when he saw what his mother had been carrying.

"Lilypaw found this when she was cleaning out your nest, Granitepaw. You're coming straight to Brightstar. No doubt he's tired of looking at your face, lately."

Her eyes burning, Goldentail beckoned Granitepaw to follow, and he gave a pleading look towards Duskpaw, but Duskpaw just shrugged.

_It's his own fault, _thought Duskpaw, and then, _poor Lilypaw. She's always been so nice, and now Granitepaw will hate her._

Duskpaw watched Goldentail and Granitepaw approach Brightstar, but he looked distracted and waved them down, instead leaping up to the Highledge, jutting out from the side of the sloping hollow. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here, beneath the Highledge!", Brightstar yowled out.

Thumper looked up, alarmed, from where he was laying next to Rosepaw, but she meowed something to him and he calmed down and walked over to where Duskpaw was standing, Rosepaw close behind.

"You were so right about Rosepaw," Thumper whispered to Duskpaw, "She's the greatest cat I've ever met."

Duskpaw snorted. He couldn't bring himself to look Thumper in the eye just now.

Brightstar began speaking as the Clan consolidated beneath the Highledge. "Cats of BrackenClan," he started, "Thumper is a rogue who had hunted in this forest before we arrived. To be fairest, I have decided to give him, and any other rogue who might have hunted here before us, a piece of our territory."

Cats around Duskpaw began yowling in protest.

"You can't give away Clan territory!" objected Lightfoot, his hackles raising. BrackenClan cats were shooting hostile looks at Thumper, who was shifting from paw to paw uneasily. Duskpaw wasn't sure what he felt, but he could see that Rosepaw had made up her mind. She was hissing, her fur fluffed out, at any cat that so much as turned an angry whisker Thumper's way.

Brightstar continued, "I have decided to give to Thumper the abandoned Twolegs nest in the field, at the edge of our territory."

The cats were shocked into silence. Every cat knew that the nest was infested with rats, as Railweed could testify to. Had Brightstar forgotten that crucial detail?

The truth struck Duskpaw like a lightning bolt. Brightstar was _trying_ to get rid of Thumper!

Turning to him, Duskpaw opened his maw, but was interrupted by Thumper, who spoke to him. "Is that nest full of prey? I'll bet it is!"

"You're right," Duskpaw meowed grimly, "but that's not all there is in it. Railweed-" Duskpaw was cut off short by Brightstar.

"Rainwhisker, Wreneye, you two will escort Thumper to his territory. Make sure to set scent markers along the field, so that we don't have any more incidents like this." With that, Brightstar leapt off the Highledge and padded towards his den.

"Well, bye, Duskpaw, bye, Rosepaw. Maybe I'll see you two another time?" Thumper suggested timidly as Rainwhisker and Wreneye, both looking very imposing, came up and flanked him. The trio began walking out of the camp.

Duskpaw turned to Rosepaw, a plea to help Thumper on his lips, but Rosepaw simply turned away and stalked over to the other side of the clearing.

Just when Duskpaw thought she was having a breakthrough.

A wave of anxiety rose over Duskpaw. He had to warn Thumper about the rats in the nest, but Rosepaw wasn't going to be any help, and Granitepaw was obviously up to his nose in fox dung again for taking away parts of the monster's carcass.

Duskpaw glanced across the clearing worriedly, and spotted Railweed making his way out of the medicine cat's den for the first time since his injury. Duskpaw rushed over to him.

"Railweed!" he exclaimed, "Brightstar just sent Thumper, the rogue, into the old Twoleg nest! You've got to help me warn him before the rats eat him alive!"

Railweed looked horrified. "Great StarClan, has Brightstar lost his mind?" Upon seeing Duskpaw's anxious glance, he added, "Of course I'll go with you. But let's wait till dark, when no cat will notice us missing. Maybe the rats will be asleep, too." Railweed shivered.

Duskpaw felt relieved, in spite of Railweed's fears. _Thumper, I'm coming!_

**Damn that's long. No wonder it took me forever to write this, eh? Well, you can probably guess what happens next chapter.**

** But what's up with Brightstar? He's not acting his usual, wise self. And Rosepaw and Thumper? You'll all just have to wait until next week, won't you? =] **

**I 3 my reviewers! You guys really inspire me to write more!! *hint hint* ; )**


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